Mississipi mud pie

I made this recipe for a family gathering last week, and oh my....fabulous! I got it from this great cookbook from the library called "Baked Explorations". This is cookbook I may consider buying, it's great. This is not a throw together dessert, it takes some planning ahead and is best made over the course of two days. in fact, I kept telling my husband while making it. "I hope this is worth it" and it was. It fed our crowd of 8 with plenty of leftover. It's rich and chocolaty and divine! It's full of butter, chocolate, whole milk and eggs..so if you are on a diet this is not for you! Don't be intimidated by the recipe, it's easy if you make it in steps!

To begin, preheat oven to 300. line 9" springform pan with parchment paper and lightly spray with cooking spray, mix:
Chocolate cookie crust:
35-40 oreos (or any chocolate sandwich cookies) finely crushed
5 tbsp butter, melted

Mix cookie crumbs and butter together and press into the bottom and up the sides of springform pan, leaving about 1/4" between top of the crust and the top of the pan. Place in freezer for about 10 min. Bake the crust in the oven until dry to the touch about 10 min. while cooling make the flourless chocolate cake. Increase oven temp to 350

Flourless Chocolate cake:

4 tbsp unsalted butter
6 oz good quality dark chocolate 60-70% cocao)(i just used Baker's semi-sweet baking chocolate.)
2 tbsp cocoa powder (used in place of espresso powder, which you could use as well)
1/4 c.whole milk (used in place of strong coffee at room temp.)
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp. vanilla
6 large eggs separated, at room temperature
1 c. sugar
Using a double boiler or in microwave, melt the butter and chocolate together (in microwave check every 30 seconds). In a small bowl whisk together cocoa powder, milk, coffee, salt and vanilla. set aside.

In a mixer beat the egg yolks with 1/2 c. sugar until the mixture is light and has almost doubled in volume. Add the chocolate mixture and beat until just combined. Add the cocoa powder mixtures and mix on low until combined. In another bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy, gradually increase the speed to high and add remaining 1/2 c. sugar, beating until soft peaks form. Gently fold egg whites into chocolate batter (about 1c. at a time) Do not rush this process, work gently and do not overmix! Pour the batter onto cookie crust and and bake for 38-42 minutes (make sure you have increased oven temp to 350 as mentioned above) until cake is set but still jiggles slightly. It might not look completely cooked, this normal. let cool. As the cake cools it will deflate in the center and look sunken. Don't worry this is normal! Wrap and refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.

Chocolate Pudding
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. dark unsweetened cocoa powder (I used ghiradelli sweetened cocoa and used less sugar)
1/4 c. cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
4 large egg yolks
2 1/2 c. whole milk
3 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tsp vanilla
3 oz. dark chocolate

In a medium saucepan whisk together sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch and salt. Add the egg yolks and whisk until combined. The mixture will look like thick paste. Slowly pour in milk, whisking constantly. In a saucepan over medium heat, bring the mixture to a boil, whisking constantly. Boil for 30 seconds, remove from heat and transfer to mixing bowl, add butter, vanilla and chocolate. Whisk until combined. Continue to stir for a few more minutes to cool the mixture slightly. Press a piece of plastic wrap over surface of pudding to prevent skin from forming and chill. After pudding is chilled enough, layer it on top of flourless cake. Top with whipped cream. (real stuff is the best...) refrigerate until ready to serve